Compact flash storage media, such as CompactFlash™ cards by SanDisk Corporation of Sunnyvale, Calif., are popular removable mass storage devices. The card is about the size of a matchbook and only weighs about half an ounce. The card was designed based on the popular PC Card (PCMCIA) standard and can easily be slipped into these sockets with the use of a low-cost adapter. The instant assignee has chosen to employ compact flash media to store game software code in its unique line of processor boards to be installed in electronic gaming devices operable to play games of chance, such as slots, poker, bingo, keno, and blackjack. The compact flash medium was chosen for the following reasons.                It is an emerging standard for data storage in such products as digital cameras, digital music players, desktop computers, handheld PCs (HPCs), personal communicators, Palm PCs, Auto PCs, digital voice recorders, and photo printers, etc.        It is housed in a small, easily removable package.        It may be upgraded to larger memory sizes in the same package.        It has no moving parts and, therefore, is extremely reliable.        It has greater ESD immunity than the EPROM devices that are currently used in many gaming devices.        The cost of the memory system is comparable to that of existing memory systems in gaming devices.        
To use compact flash media for storing critical game data, jurisdictional requirements for electronic gaming devices state that the game code must be stored in a storage medium that is not alterable when the medium is installed. Storage media that have been or are being used to store the game code include EPROMs, CD ROM drives, and hard drives. While EPROMs and CD ROMs are not alterable when installed, a hard disk drive must be made to be write protected. This is typically done by physically cutting the wire that would carry a signal providing write pulses to the hard disk. Disabling writes to compact flash media in the same manner (i.e., cutting the wire carrying the write signal) is not feasible because the compact flash media are extremely small in size and are sealed.